New Music to Listen to & Why by Jane Jansen Seymour - follow on Spotify @newmusicmatters

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

New Song by Jimi Goodwin of Doves "Oh! Whiskey" (Debut Solo Album Out)

Jimi Goodwin (Photo via Heavenly Recordings)

I heard a familiar voice on KEXP recently and thought perhaps it was a Doves song I didn't know well, but it was a new song by Jimi Goodwin. The singer/frontman for this beloved UK band (recently cited as one I'd love to resurrect) has released his first solo album, Odludek, which means loner or pilgrim in Polish. Goodwin still stands by the notion that the Doves are on hiatus, saying that they just need time for other projects. "I'd never rule out us coming back together again either," Goodwin explains. "Never say never. But this is what I'm concentrating on at the moment... and I'm loving it."

The tune "Oh! Whiskey" is getting good airplay and while I'm not a fan of harmonica, the expansive composition changes tempos into deviations that remind me of the best from the Doves. And of course it's all anchored by Goodwin's ragged, heartwarming delivery and his let's-get-personal lyrics. He wrote and played almost everything on Odludek himself, being very protective of the new solo experience. Goodwin says, "I feel like I've been in hibernation, and now I'm emerging out in to the sunlight again, and it feels great." Take a listen to "Oh! Whiskey" at the widget below.